


A Kiss and A Promise

by literaryoblivion



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Broken Bones, EMT Derek, EMT Derek Hale, Elevators, Fluff, M/M, Neighbors, Student Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-11 08:50:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3321287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literaryoblivion/pseuds/literaryoblivion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It took Stiles about a week to figure out that he shared his apartment building with someone who very well may be the hottest man he's ever seen. It then took about three weeks to narrow down which of the possible six floors he lives on. After that it takes another week to figure out that the guy works as an EMT because he’s in the elevator wearing his tight uniform and Stiles didn’t think it was possible for the guy to look hotter, but it is totally possible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Kiss and A Promise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Finduilas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Finduilas/gifts).



> This is for [Ine](http://finduilasclln.tumblr.com) who won a fic from me for the Tyler Hoechlin Birthday charity auction. Sorry it took forever! I hope you like it!
> 
> Also thank you to my beta [Fea](http://nestingdean.tumblr.com/).

It took Stiles about a week to figure out that he shared his apartment building with someone who very well may be the hottest man he's ever seen. It then took about three weeks to narrow down which of the possible six floors he lives on. (Stiles is pretty sure it’s either the fourth or sixth because Stiles lives on the fifth and sometimes Hot Guy gets off the elevator before him, but sometimes he stays after Stiles gets out.) After that it takes another week to figure out that the guy works as an EMT because he’s in the elevator wearing his tight uniform and Stiles didn’t think it was possible for the guy to look hotter, but it is totally possible. (Don’t ask Stiles why he thinks men in uniforms are hot, it _does not_ have anything to do with his dad being a Sheriff, okay?) The blue shirt looks like it’s about two sizes too small on him because the buttons are just barely holding around his pecs, and Stiles purposefully waves for the hot guy to exit the elevator first when they’re at the ground level just so he can stay to check out Hot Guy’s ass in those slacks.

The man is always… well Stiles wouldn’t say friendly because that’s not true, but he at least gives Stiles a nod of acknowledgment when they end up sharing the elevator together. It takes Stiles another week after discovering Hot Guy is an EMT to get up the courage to actually speak to him, like actually ask him a question instead of mumbling a “good morning” or “afternoon” and give him a courteous smile as he joins him (or leaves him as the case may be) on the elevator. He thinks maybe he’ll make a comment about being an EMT, asking him if he saved any cats; no wait, that’s firemen isn’t it? Maybe he’ll ask him what the dumbest thing someone’s done that has required his presence as an EMT. Actually, on second thought, maybe he shouldn’t ask anything about being an EMT.

Of course Stiles is thinking all of this when he’s waiting for the elevator to arrive on his floor. It’s been incredibly slow lately, and he would just take the stairs to get some much needed exercise, but… Hot Guy. Plus, he has a lot of books for his dissertation research in his backpack that he doesn’t want to lug down five flights of stairs. Second floor maybe. Fifth? No way.

The elevator chimes, and the doors slowly open to reveal Hot Guy in what looks to be an EMT T-shirt (so not the tight uniform) and some _very_ fitted jeans. Stiles figures it’s as good a time as any, and gives the guy a wide grin as he steps into the elevator. He moves to stand next to the man, who shuffles to the side so that the both of them have a nice bubble of space between them. Neither of them move to push the button, the first floor button already lit up, so the doors stay open for a few seconds more before gradually closing.

“So,” Stiles says because he’s got five floors to say something, and he better do it now, while he still has the nerve. “Having a good morning?”

The man tilts his head slightly in Stiles’s direction and shrugs. Great.

Stiles sticks his hand out. “I’m Stiles, by the way. Figured we see each other often enough, maybe I should introduce myself?”

The man stares at his hand long enough that Stiles thinks maybe he should pull it back in, and retreat to the corner of the elevator, and take the stairs forever, his back muscles be damned. But, finally, the man accepts Stiles’s hand and shakes it with his own.

“Derek,” he says in a low gruff voice, like answering Stiles is the last thing he wanted to do, which it probably is.

“Nice to meet you, Derek,” Stiles replies with a smile. Derek grunts. Stiles opens his mouth to ask another question, but the elevator chimes, letting them know they’ve arrived on the first floor. “After you,” he says, bowing a little and gesturing toward the door.

Derek nods and steps out first, Stiles following shortly behind them. He ends up following Derek down to the parking garage, which is awkward since they’re still close to each other, almost side by side, and really, Stiles could have asked another question and continued their conversation. But, it’s too late now.

Stiles gets to his car first, and Derek strides past him. Before he’s out of earshot, Stiles shouts, “Have a good day, Derek!” He’s not really sure what possessed him to say it, maybe the vain hope that Derek would repeat the same sentiment to him.

Derek stops in his tracks and turns to face Stiles, his eyebrows scrunched together like he’s confused, like he’s never had someone tell him to have a good day before.

“Uh, you too?” Derek finally gets out, and Stiles barely utters “thanks” before Derek is quickly spinning around and speed walking to his shiny black Camaro.

Well, in the end, the important thing is now Stiles can stop calling him Hot Guy in his head and just call him Derek.

~

It takes another month, but slowly and surely, Derek warms up a little. They exchange friendly (well okay maybe civil is more like it at least from Derek’s end) greetings and conversations that are more than just nods and grunts. He finds out that Derek has a dog, which Stiles has always been more of a cat person himself, but he’s not opposed to dogs. He also learns that Derek lives on the sixth floor, but he sometimes gets off on the fourth because that’s apparently where the gym is. Stiles didn’t even know their apartment building had a gym.

Stiles reveals things about himself too, but he’s not sure if Derek is paying attention or if he retains any of the information Stiles tells him: like he loves curly fries, is working on his PhD in mythology and folklore, and grew up in a small town in California. Everything is relayed in short snippets over the course of the month during their short elevator rides together.

The next time he sees Derek, he’s in his uniform again, on his way home, and looking dead on his feet. His shift must have been pretty rough. Instead of asking about his job, like usual, Stiles asks Derek if he wants a cup of coffee.

“Huh?” Derek says, looking up at Stiles, his eyes barely staying open. Stiles holds open the elevator doors. They’re on his floor now, but he kind of doesn’t want to leave Derek in this condition.

“Want to come over for some coffee? Or like… a nap? My couch is pretty comfy?” Stiles’s eyes dart to his feet, not sure if he should have said that last part; he doesn’t want Derek to presume anything.

“Uh…” Derek blinks at him, like he’s _still_ not sure what Stiles said even though this is the second time he’s said it. “Okay,” he finally answers.

Stiles is surprised at first, figuring Derek would say something like “rain check” and wave Stiles off, but he quickly schools his features and smiles softly at Derek. “Follow me,” Stiles says. He continues to hold the doors open as Derek stumbles out of them. He’s sure if Derek was more aware, he’d be embarrassed, but as it is, it seems like Derek is barely functioning.

In fact, Stiles is worried about him enough that he stays by Derek’s side, like he might fall over as they walk down the empty hall to Stiles’s apartment. He doesn’t put an arm around him, even though he kind of wants to, but he does walk close enough that their shoulders brush against each other every few steps.

At his door, Stiles retrieves his keys and unlocks his apartment, stepping in and leaving the door open for Derek to follow. He has one of the smaller units, what with his measly college student/PhD candidate earnings, and his furniture is all second-hand or hand-me-downs from friends. His couch, however, is super comfy, just like he promised, and he pushes Derek towards it until he plops down on it.

“You look like you’re about to fall over. Just, wait here, I’ll go get a pot started.”

Derek nods, bleary eyed and blinking up at Stiles while he leaves for the kitchen. Most of his dishes are in the sink, Stiles not having the time or energy to do them recently, but he manages to find a couple of mismatched mugs in the cupboard while he sets a pot to start brewing. Not wanting to go back in the living room only to leave when the pot is ready, he stays in the kitchen, putting the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and wiping down the counters.

It probably makes him a terrible host to not be in the living room entertaining Derek, but he kind of never thought he’d be in this situation to begin with. Plus, he’s sure Derek is perfectly fine sitting in the silence for a few minutes while he waits. He looked like he could use quiet.

Stiles pours a cup of coffee for Derek, and one for himself, and takes them in to the living room. He can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of him when he finds Derek slumped over the arm of his couch, his head pillowed on his arms, eyes closed and mouth slightly open.

“Guess I’m too late with the coffee,” Stiles mutters to himself. He sets their mugs down on the coffee table by the couch and leaves to fetch a blanket from his linen closet, a large fleece one his best friend’s mom made for him when he went off to college. He gently places it over Derek’s sleeping form and adjusts it so it covers most of the sleeping man. Derek stirs a little when Stiles tugs it over his shoulders, but otherwise remains asleep. He knows he probably shouldn’t, but Stiles softly brushes Derek’s hair back from his forehead.

He quietly takes the mugs of coffee back into the kitchen and pours them out into the sink. He’s not sure how long Derek will be asleep, but Stiles can’t stay in the living room with him. How creepy would that be, just watching him sleep? He doesn’t want to leave Derek to wake up from his nap alone in an unfamiliar place though, so he ventures to sit at his tiny dining room table, in clear view of the couch, and tries to work on his dissertation. Tries being the key word since it’s very hard to concentrate with Derek sleeping ten feet away from him, his features soft and his mouth slightly open.

As the afternoon wears on, his apartment growing darker as the sun goes down, Stiles begins to grow hungry. He thinks about ordering a pizza, wondering if maybe he should get a larger size since Derek is here and might want some when he wakes, but also doesn’t want to be too presumptuous. He’s pretty sure he left his phone in his bedroom to charge, so he goes to retrieve it and leaves his laptop open and turns on the small light above the oven so he can see when he comes back.

After he finds his phone and the number of a pizza place, he comes back to find Derek with his hand on the doorknob of the front door.

“Oh, uh…” Derek says when he sees Stiles. He looks nervous, like he’s been caught stealing cookies from the jar.

“Hey, there,” Stiles says, flicking on the light in the living room.

“I’m… sorry, about falling asleep.”

Stiles shrugs. “It’s cool. You looked like you were pretty tired. Hope the couch was as comfortable as I promised.”

Derek rubs the back of his neck and looks back at the couch where the blanket Stiles had gotten for him is all neatly folded and resting on the arm. “It was… yeah. I should probably- uh go to bed though. Thanks for... the coffee.”

Stiles tries his best to hide his disappointment. Logically he knows Derek is tired, but he still kind of hoped he’d stick around to actually drink that cup of coffee or have dinner maybe. “Yeah of course. No problem.” He walks to the door, Derek stepping aside for him as he reaches to open it and show Derek out.

“Maybe…” Derek pauses, standing just outside Stiles’s apartment. “Maybe we can- um- do it some other time? When I'm not so tired?" He's acting shy and vulnerable, and Stiles has never seen this side of him before. He can't say he minds it.

"Of course!" Stiles says with a smile. "Anytime. Just uh- let me know?"

Derek's lips quirk up in a half smile, and he nods. "I'll see you around," he says, giving Stiles a wave and continuing down the hall to the stairwell at the end.

Stiles watches Derek disappear from view and retreats back into his apartment. It might not have gone how he'd hoped, but Derek did want to see him again. They would probably schedule something the next time they ran into each other? Maybe.

He just hopes its sooner rather than later.

~

As it turns out, it's later. And when Stiles does run into him, Derek is the last person he wants to see.

"You called the ambulance?!" he shouts at the few people standing around him, one of which includes his friend Kira, the reason he’s in this mess in his opinion.

"Stiles you fell into a manhole! What did you expect me to do, leave you?!" Kira shouts at him over the sounds of the sirens of the ambulance that just pulled up.

"Yes! No! I just... Ugh just please tell me one of the EMTs isn't muscular with greenish eyes and stubble and--"

"Looks kind of grumpy?" Kira supplies. She nods. "He's hot though."

Stiles groans both because of pain and embarrassment. He's currently straddling the sidewalk, his leg, which he's positive is broken, is stuck in the manhole up to his thigh, wedged between the cement and the cover that someone didn't replace properly. He could probably sue the city now that he thinks about it, although to be honest he really can’t think about it too much because all that causes him to focus on is the agonizing pain.

“Try not to move,” a blond curly-haired man in an EMT uniform says as he sets down his kit. “I’m Isaac, and you are?”

“Stiles?” Derek says, frowning with his brow furrowed. He stops pushing the gurney to stand next to Isaac.

“Ha ha… hey _owwww_ … hey Derek,” Stiles says sheepishly, his voice quivering, probably because of the pain. (That’s what he’s going with anyway).

“What happened?” Derek asks, kneeling down closer to Stiles. Isaac gives Derek a flat look.

“I was walking, and--”

“It was totally my fault,” Kira chimes in, clearly upset. Well at least she knows she’s to blame.

“I wasn’t paying attention because Kira here called out my name at the same time I took a step and now I’m here. I don’t think the cover had been replaced properly. I’m… I’m pretty sure my leg is broken though,” he says it around a wince and Isaac and Derek both frown in sympathy.

“It might be,” Isaac says. “We’re going to have to get you out though to be sure. It… might hurt though, so be ready,” Isaac says, his hands on the wedged manhole cover that’s pinning Stiles’s leg.

Derek takes a hold of Stiles’s leg to try to steady it as best he can while Isaac pries the cover free. Stiles was embarrassed at first, but now he’s kind of glad Derek’s here. He doesn’t know him incredibly well, but he still has this sense of being safe and the feeling that everything will be okay because Derek is with him.

When Isaac frees the cover, Stiles doubles over and moans in pain into Derek’s back. The cover must have been acting as some kind of tourniquet, but now that he’s free, the blood rushes to his leg and the pain is overwhelming.

“It’s okay, I got you,” Derek whispers as he picks Stiles up and carries him in his arms to the waiting gurney that Isaac holds steady. Isaac looks like he wants to say something, but he doesn’t and watches Derek lower Stiles down.

Isaac has a splint ready and waiting, and as soon as Stiles is lying down, Isaac starts securing it around Stiles’s leg. He has a few bags of ice as well that he sets gently on top of Stiles’s leg, and then he and Derek start wheeling Stiles to the back of the ambulance. Stiles has just enough time to wave to Kira, who assures Stiles she’ll see him at the hospital as she pushes through the crowd that’s gathered around him.

Once inside, Derek stays in the back with Stiles, and Isaac hops around to the front to slide behind the wheel. Derek checks Stiles’s vital signs, and Stiles would watch, but he kind of feels like he’s about to pass out.

“So uhhhh…” Stiles mumbles, “Do I get something for the pain at all? ‘Cause… that would… be nice.”

Derek grimaces and shakes his head. “Sorry. I can’t give you anything before the doctor sees you and takes an X-ray.”

Stiles pouts, but he gets it, and tries to focus on something other than the throbbing in his leg.

“But, uh…” Derek says, scooting down the bench as he leans over to rest his hand next to Stiles’s on the gurney. “You could… squeeze my hand maybe if that helps?”

Stiles grins and brushes a few fingers over the back of Derek’s hand. “Is that your way of asking me to hold your hand?”

As soon as he says it, he regrets it because Derek flushes red and mumbles, “You don’t have to, I just thought--” and quickly tries to take his hand away from Stiles’s.

Stiles shoots his hand out to stop Derek. “No, I want to. I think it’d… help,” he says, blushing slightly himself. Derek lets Stiles pull his hand closer and lace their fingers together. It ends up being not purely indulgent in the end though when Stiles ends up squeezing Derek’s hand a few times as Isaac drives over a few bumps.

The ride to the hospital is short. As soon as they pull up, Derek releases Stiles’s hand and suddenly Stiles finds himself wishing the drive had been just a bit longer, which, c’mon Stiles. Broken leg, remember?

Derek moves to open the doors and he and Isaac wheel Stiles out of the ambulance. Kira is already there waiting for him along with his best friend Scott’s mom, Melissa, a nurse at the hospital. Before Stiles can thank Derek, he’s being handed off to Melissa and another nurse and steered away through the hospital doors.

An X-ray, some pudding (that he begged Melissa for), and a cast and a pair of crutches later, Stiles is finally released from the hospital. Kira drives him home and promises to have Scott pick up his Jeep later.

They pull up to his apartment building, and Stiles, despite Kira’s protests, insists that he can handle things from here. He’s perfectly capable of getting into his apartment by himself.

“Are you sure? It’s no trouble, I promise,” Kira says. Again.

“No, I’m fine. I got it. This is embarrassing enough as it is, Kira. Please let me walk into my building alone.”

Kira frowns and looks like she might put up another fight, but she slowly nods. “Okay. Well if you need anything, call me. Me or Scott can bring over food or something?”

“Thanks. I’ll let you know,” he answers leaning over the console to give her a hug. He takes his time exiting the car and getting his crutches situated comfortably enough for him to walk into the building. Kira shouts goodbye once he’s at the doors and waits for Stiles to wave before taking off.

He makes his way over to the elevator, and his stomach drops.

Plastered on the shiny silver doors is a giant “Out of Order, Sorry for the Inconvenience” sign. It’s accompanied by a few orange cones and caution tape set up in front of the elevator, blocking it off.

“Seriously?” Stiles grumbles to no one in particular. _Of course_ it’s his luck. He’s going to have to call Kira to come back and get him and let him crash at her and Scott’s place because there is no way in hell he’s going to climb five flights of stairs on crutches.

“I know; it sucks,” a deep voice says behind him, and Stiles almost falls over when he tries to spin around to see Derek. Derek catches him though and steadies him.

“Of all the days,” Stiles says, and Derek winces.

“I’m sorry. I saw it when I got off shift, and I was hoping to warn you at the hospital, but they told me you had already checked out.”

“It’s cool. I’ll just have my friend pick me up, and I’ll crash at their place or something.”

“Or… I could help?”

Stiles furrows his brow, confused. “Help? What, are you going to carry me up the stairs?” Derek opens his mouth and shuts it again and shrugs. “Oh my god, you were totally going to offer to carry me up the stairs. It’s five flights!”

“I think I could handle it. I’d like to help. Please?”

And Stiles, well… he’d be rude not to accept, wouldn’t he? He sighs. “Alright. But I’m totally cool with like, taking a break on a landing if we need to.”

“Of course,” Derek says, grinning, like his entire day has been made because he gets to carry Stiles up five flights of stairs.

Stiles totters over to the stairwell by himself, it’s the least he can do, really, with Derek following closely behind him. At the stairwell, Derek lowers himself down enough for Stiles to hop up on his back. It’s a bit awkward at first, what with the cast and the crutches, but Derek holds firmly on to Stiles’s legs that are draped around his waist. Stiles holds on to the crutches, doing his best to keep them from knocking into Derek as they start to climb up the stairs.

“So I didn’t get to thank you for earlier, rescuing me and all,” Stiles says after a few beats of silence between them, the sound of Derek’s footsteps and the clank of his crutches banging against each other echoing around them.

“Just doing my job,” Derek replies.

“I know, but… I’m glad it was you.”

“Me too,” Derek responds quietly.

“I’m also glad you’re incredibly strong. Seriously, dude, we’re already on the third floor and you’re like not even out of breath!”

Derek shakes his head and chuckles, but doesn’t say anything more.

“I hope I’m not ruining any plans you might have had,” Stiles says as his subtle way of trying to see if he could get Derek to stay once they make it to his apartment.

“I didn’t have any.”

“Do you… uh, do you want some?”

“Some? What? Plans?”

Stiles nods but realizes Derek can’t really see him do it. “Yeah, I was thinking maybe you’d like to cash in that rain check on coffee? Or… maybe takeout?”

They arrive at the fifth floor, and Derek gently lowers Stiles down to his feet and helps him keep balanced while he sets his crutches down to tuck under his arms.

“I uh… I’d like that,” Derek says once Stiles has taken a few steps towards his door, following close beside him.

Stiles stops to face him. “Which? The coffee or the takeout?”

“Uh, both?”

Stiles bobs his head. “Okay, yeah. Both is good.”

They walk the rest of the way to Stiles’s door, both of them with shy smiles and rosy cheeks.

~

They order chinese food, and Derek doesn’t let Stiles get up to do anything, forcing him to remain on the couch with his foot propped up on a pillow on the coffee table. If Stiles didn’t absolutely love it, he’d yell at Derek to stop pampering him. But, as it is, he lets Derek take care of him, getting him refills, adjusting his pillow, reaching to get him a different takeout container to try, and when they’ve finished eating and are watching Netflix, he pulls Derek in closer to cuddle, which Derek does willingly.

They both doze off a little eventually, and when they wake up, Derek’s head is resting in Stiles’s lap, and Stiles is running his hands through his hair.

“I should probably get going,” Derek says, slowly sitting up.

“What if I don’t want you to?” Stiles asks with a pout.

Derek grins, and leans in close to place a soft kiss on Stiles’s lips. “I’ll be back tomorrow. Promise. I’ll bring breakfast.”

Stiles pulls him back in for another kiss, this one deeper and open-mouthed. He nips at Derek’s lip before he pulls back. “Okay,” he says against Derek’s lips.

“Okay,” Derek says, kissing Stiles again, like he can’t help himself. “See you tomorrow.”

Stiles nods in reply, and they exchange goodnights before Derek shows himself out.

What started out as a pretty terrible day, ends up being kind of wonderful, and Stiles hopes the rest of his days end the same: with a kiss and a promise from Derek.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr](http://literaryoblivion.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](http://twitter.com/lit_oblivion).
> 
> Also, I apologize for the title basically only applying to that last sentence. :( Titles are hard, yo.
> 
> Also also, I didn't include it cause it didn't really fit, but Derek has talked a lot about Stiles, the hot guy in his apartment building, to Isaac on a lot on their shifts (although he's never used Stiles's name). Normally, Derek, although good at his job, is not really a people person, so Isaac is the one that calms people down and talks to them. So when Derek comes over and starts asking Stiles what happened, that's why Isaac gives him a flat look because Derek /never/ asks people what happened and calms him down. He quickly figures out that this guy Stiles is the same guy from Derek's apartment, and he almost says something, but he doesn't. And to be nice, he let's Derek sit in the back while he drives (when usually it's the opposite). Isaac is a nice friend. :)


End file.
